Willow's Random Thoughts

Monthly Archives: December 2011

Today I’m switching my hosting from Godaddy to Gandi. I’ve been unsatisfied with Godaddy for a while, for various reasons (mostly price and customer service, plus their commercials are stupid), but it’s not been enough to get me to get off my butt and leave.

However, now Godaddy is a major supporter of SOPA. So as part of a major boycott, I’m moving my hosting and domains. And I encourage you to do it to.

However, all my hosting is going to go away. So hosted files will be down until I get them back up. It won’t mean anything for the blog itself, which is on wordpress, but any linked pdfs will likely be down. Shoot me a comment if anything isn’t working, and I’ll get it back up as soon as possible.

Pro: You’ve got magic, you’ve got elves and stuff, and you’ve got Dragons, oh yes do you have dragons. A campaign where you go around the frozen north and kill dragon after dragon sounds like D&D at its best.

Con: Varies based on choice of edition- pre-4th casters have less magical staying power than Skyrim’s mages; on the other hand 4th edition’s play ethos is largely based on tactical encounters, and Skyrim’s go-anywhere, do-anything sandbox is a major feature. Also, D&D comes with its own setting assumptions, which don’t always line up with Skyrim’s.

Burning Wheel:

Pro: Skills level up as you use them. Seems subtle, but it’s a major selling point towards that Elder Scrolls feel.

Neutral: Need to hack the magic system. But there’s got to be something in the Magic Burner that you find appropriate, and the magical Tax system is pretty close.

Con: Burning Wheel is extremely character focused; Skyrim is exploration of setting. Plus only the lifepaths for Humans really work; Nords only.

Old School D&D/Retro Clones (including Dungeon World)

Pro: Sandbox is what these games are meant to do. Easily customisable to make new races, etc.

Con: Most old-school games are low-magic, and casters suffer. Like D&D, it may not necessarily feel like Skyrim.

Savage Worlds

Pro: Easily customisable. Characters will need a few levels to feel as heroic as what Skyrim offers, but by that point, its a pretty good match.

Con: Savage World’s toolbox approach means you’re doing most of the work yourself. If an Alchemy system like Skyrim’s is a big deal to you, Savage World’s alchemy is much simpler.

Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay

Neutral: Ironically, the selling point here is either a strong plus or a strong minus: you play gritty, dirty characters. It’s not a story about the Dragonborn, but about everyone else, the guards, the thieves, the bandits.